Hardy
band of thirtysomethings turn out for tribute to the decade that taste
forgot

Small but perfectly reformed

It's a funny thing, nostalgia.

For some the 1980s conjure up grim images of yuppie
greed, spiralling dole queues and Little and Large being on TV on a regular
basis.

But for others it was a magical era when Live
Aid fed the world, the Dons were kings of Europe, and they got their first
snog behind the bike sheds.

Howling winds and horizontal rain meant leg-warmers,
ra-ra skirts and deeley-boppers were replaced by sensible winter woollies,
but a hardy band of mainly thirtysomethings turned out at the Music Hall
last night to pay homage to the decade that taste forgot.

"He's older and uglier, but still talented," boomed
an unseen voice as Ben Volpierre-Pierrot kicked off the Best of the 80s
gig.

In tribute to his host city, the Curiosity Killed
The Cat frontman swapped his trademark backwards beret for a tartan "bunnet".

There were gasps when the smoothie singer doffed
his hat to reveal a shock of cherubic curls.

"Only kidding," he winked as he chucked the wig
to one side exposing his shaven scalp.

Ben may now be a dead ringer for REM frontman
Michael Stipe, but he still had the girls screaming as he crooned the hits
Misfit, Name and Number and Down to Earth.

Unbelievably, Clare Grogan looked younger than
when Altered Images were top of the pops.

The baby-voiced Glaswegian vocalist looked genuinely
chuffed to be on stage in Aberdeen.

She beamed: "This is the first time I've sung
these songs in front of a Scottish audience in 23 years.

"Last time I was in Aberdeen I fell off stage,
so will you catch me if I take a flyer again?"

Dozens of grown men, transformed once again to
drooling teenagers, would have been happy to oblige.

By the time Happy Birthday rang out, Clare and
the audience were clearly having a ball.

At one point she sighed girlishly: "Ooh, that's
gorgeous. You're singing my songs in a Scottish accent."

Not
to be outdone, one-time punk princess Toyah Willcox made an entrance to
rival her many pantomime appearances.

Striding out in a velvet basque and thigh-high
boots she quipped: "Has anyone seen my dress?"

She belted out rocking covers of Echo Beach by
Martha and the Muffins and Sweet Child o' Mine by Guns 'n' Roses.

As the audience sang along to her angst-ridden
anthem I Want to be Free, Toyah confessed: "I feel a bit of a fraud. I
wrote this song when I was 12 and now I'm 46."

The nostalgia night was completed by Haircut 100
frontman Nick Heyward, who had the crowd dancing in the aisles to Love
Plus One and Fantastic Day.

Wild applause at the end means it is only a matter
of time before the Best of the 90s tour starts snaking round the country.